Germany's Federal Constitutional Court recently published two important decisions concerning registered same sex couples. Beginning of August the top court once again made clear that civil servants, judges and soldiers living in a registered same sex partnership have to be treated equally to married heterosexual couples: Bonuses have to be paid retroactively until August 1, 2001, the day when the German partnership law came into effect.

Other rulings concerning the retroactivity are to be considered unconstitutional. Only one week later, the top court again criticised the government by ruling that same sex couples living in registered civil partnerships must be treated exactly the same as married heterosexual couples with regard to land transfer tax. The government's decision in 2010 to discriminate lifepartners in this area was unconstitutional. The governemt has to repair its mistakes until the end of this year.

In the last years, the Lesbian and Gay Federation in Germany (LSVD) has been urging government and legislators to immediately change the lifepartnership law and grant equal rights for same sex registered couples in income tax law. It is inadmissible to wait for another decision of the Federal Constitutional Court that condemns the government's inactivity und unwillingness to act. LSVD argues the best thing to do is to open marriage for same sex couples and to finally grant fully equal rights in this way. This would be fair, propper, adequate and last but not least constitutional.